Town 9 km east of Malinalco
A forest-ringed mountain town with a 16th-century Augustinian monastery, seat of the municipality that includes Chalma.
Ocuilan de Arteaga sits in the forested hills east of Malinalco, on the road toward Cuernavaca, and it is the seat of the municipality that includes the famous shrine of Chalma. Few visitors stop in the town itself, which keeps the feel of a mountain village: tile-roofed houses, steep lanes, and pine and oak forest all around.
The name comes from the Nahuatl for "place where the worms abound," probably a reference to caterpillars, and the town's ancient glyph shows a rearing caterpillar. The Aztecs conquered the area in the late 15th century, and it lay on an old trade route used by merchants heading south. Augustinian friars settled here in 1537 and built the monastery of Santiago Apóstol, whose fortress-like church and arcaded cloister are the town's main monument; part of the old convent is used today as a cultural center run by the state.
Ocuilan is also home ground for the Tlahuica, or Ocuilteco, one of the smallest Indigenous peoples in the State of Mexico, centered on the village of San Juan Atzingo. The biggest local celebration is the feast of the Señor del Calvario, held on the fifth Friday of Lent.
What to see and do
Visit the 16th-century Augustinian church and cloister of Santiago Apóstol.
Walk up to the Señor del Calvario chapel for views over the town.
Learn about the Tlahuica people of San Juan Atzingo, if you can visit during a community celebration.
Combine it with Chalma, in the same municipality, or continue on to the Lagunas de Zempoala.
Getting there
Ocuilan is about 17 km from Malinalco, roughly 25 to 30 minutes by car on the road toward Chalma and Cuernavaca (Highway 181 and then the Ocuilan turnoff). There are local buses and colectivos in the area, but service is limited, so a car is easiest.
9 km east of Malinalco
Directions from Malinalco on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Places to stay in Ocuilan
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Weather mild
Ocuilan shares the climate of Malinalco, 9 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.
Make Malinalco your base
Ocuilan is an easy trip from Malinalco, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Malinalco
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Desierto del Carmen
· Nature reserve · 7 km away
A forested national park around a secluded Carmelite convent, with clifftop lookouts over the Malinalco valley. -
Santuario de Chalma
· Landmark · 7 km away
One of Mexico's great pilgrimage shrines, home of the venerated Señor de Chalma, in a canyon east of Malinalco. -
Tenancingo
· Town · 10 km away
The rebozo capital of the region, with a flower market, a big tianguis and a giant Christ above town. -
Villa Guerrero
· Town · 15 km away
Mexico's flower capital, past Tenancingo: greenhouses on every hill and a wholesale flower market. -
Teotenango
· Archaeological site · 20 km away
A walled hilltop city above Tenango del Valle, about 40 minutes north on the road to Toluca. -
Lagunas de Zempoala
· Lake · 24 km away
A national park of high-altitude lakes and fir forest on the Morelos border, about an hour from Malinalco. -
Xochicalco
· Archaeological site · 27 km away
A UNESCO-listed hilltop city in Morelos with the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, about an hour southeast.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.